Protecting the natural environment of Earth is, as of now, the best way we have to ensure a bright future for both ourselves and the generations to come.
Although space can be made permanently habitable for human beings, we currently have neither all the necessary know-how to do so nor the industrial capabilities to move billions of humans off the planet. Simply put, the easiest and cheapest option is to take care of this rock we already inhabit.
While the task of saving the environment may seem daunting, it can be made somewhat easier through the use of advanced technology.
To help you understand how, below, you’ll find some of the most important solutions currently being used to help reduce humanity’s impact on Mother Earth. Read on and discover how humanity uses its ingenuity for the good of our planet!
Technological Progress Enables Zero Waste
The concept of zero waste is a rather simple idea. Everything we consume should either be reusable or recyclable, ultimately resulting in no waste being sent to landfills, incinerators, or, worse, sunk in the ocean.
Thanks to the ongoing technological progress, this idea is slowly but surely becoming a reality. Manufacturing processes are constantly revised and improved to reduce further the number of resources wasted while producing goods.
Traditional long-lasting fabrics (e.g., plastic) are no longer the only option available to customers looking for products like carrier bags or straws. Now they can also opt for biodegradable or compostable alternatives. The use of engineered plastic-eating bacteria is also being explored.
Recycling Common Materials
However, zero-waste-driven innovation goes beyond manufacturing processes and materials. Individuals are finally able to recycle some of the more common materials without having to leave their own homes.
With the help of Petamentor2, a DIY recycling device, it becomes possible to repurpose old PET water bottles into free 3D printing filament. All in all, technological progress has given us the tools we need to achieve zero waste. We just need to put them to good use.
Technology Helps Reduce Vehicle Emissions
While the constant improvements to combustion engines make them much more efficient and less polluting than they used to be, they are still a far cry from being environmentally friendly. If we are to reduce our impact on the climate significantly, the development of alternative propulsion systems is an essential task.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are often seen as the most viable option. They emit no pollutants while in operation, as they don’t have a traditional engine that burns fossil fuels. Instead, a large number of high-capacity batteries power an electric motor and drive the wheels, which makes EVs significantly quieter than their gasoline-powered counterparts.
Using Hydrogen Fuel Cells
The alternative approach to powering EVs is using hydrogen fuel cells – devices that convert the chemical energy of the hydrogen into electricity, which can then be used to power the electric motor. Although the technology is still in its infancy, it has a great deal of potential, as the only by-product of the process is water vapor and nothing else.
Technological Progress Drives Clean Energy Generation
Electric vehicles are only one step in the right direction – to make a big impact, such vehicles can’t rely on power from traditional fossil fuel-based power plants. However, for that to happen, a major shift in the way we generate electricity is required.
Renewable Energy Is a Great Boon
The rise of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, is slowly but surely making that happen. Thanks to continuous technological progress, solar panels are becoming more efficient and affordable, making them a viable option for an increasing number of households.
To illustrate the point, by 2009, the average cost of a solar panel installation exceeded $8 per watt. Due to the constant advances in the field, now the price of mounting a much more efficient system has dropped to around $2.77 per watt. That’s an almost threefold cost decrease in slightly more than a decade!
Nuclear Energy Shouldn’t Be Feared
While renewables are a great way to clean up our power generation, they are not perfect. The biggest issue with solar and wind is that they are intermittent – the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. As a result, when these conditions are not met, we still need to rely on power from traditional means to meet the demand.
This is where another clean energy source – nuclear power – comes into play. Although they have their share of issues (e.g., radioactive waste disposal and building expenses), nuclear plants can provide a steady stream of electricity no matter the weather or time of day.
Most importantly, modern reactors are an entirely different breed from the ones that caused Chernobyl or SL-1.
Taking Steps To Prevent Nuclear Incidents
Numerous fail-safes exist to prevent incidents both human and natural in origin, reducing the chances of an incident to a very low order of probability.
Few things speak for the safety of modern atomic reactors, as much as the fact that it took a tsunami and an earthquake to cause the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster.
It may have taken several tragic accidents to get us here, but we’ve finally reached the point where nuclear power can be seen as a mature and viable technology.
Advanced Technology Empowers Environmental Compliance
Environmental compliance refers to various laws, regulations, and standards that organizations must adhere to in order to minimize their negative impact on the climate and the ecosystem in general.
Although some may see it as nothing more than a hindrance to business, environmental compliance is a necessary step on the road to a more sustainable future. Without it, the state of our planet would be much worse than it is now.
Effective Environmental Compliance
Technological progress is one of the biggest factors influencing the overall effectiveness of environmental compliance. Constantly improving machine learning and data analysis techniques can help regulators identify rule-breakers much faster and with greater accuracy.
What’s more, the development of such technologies makes it possible to lower the costs of monitoring significantly. What used to be a time-consuming and expensive process done by a dedicated team of professionals can now be at least partially automated and carried out by a computer!
Conclusion
Technology is often seen as the main driver of environmental degradation. However, that doesn’t have to be the case – if used correctly, it can be a powerful tool in the fight for a cleaner planet.
Efforts such as the zero waste lifestyle, the switch to electric vehicles, effective environmental compliance, and the gradual phasing out of fossil fuels in favor of greener power sources wouldn’t be possible without the continuous technological progress we’ve witnessed over the past few decades.
Of course, there’s still a lot of work to be done. However, suppose we continue down the same path. In that case, there’s a good chance that, eventually, we will be able to stop inflicting such a heavy toll on the environment and perhaps even start repairing the damage we’ve done.
While we can’t be sure if the 22nd century Earth will be a lush and thriving paradise, we have the means to slowly make it a reality – all we need to do is use them.